The New York Times

July 4th 1919

BERLIN UPROAR: Treaty of Versailles

By Nguyen Xuan Bach
BERLIN - Demonstrations continued to take place in Berlin yesterday as a resentment to the Treaty of Versailles, which the German said to be too harsh and unfair towards them. Thousands of people gathered in front of the Reichstag Building to express their anger towards the Treaty and the Government. Banners with phrases like Down with the peace force, Day of Versailles, Day of Dishonor, and Danzig remains ours were held and people shouted them out loud. Mr. Karl-Heinz Wagner, 36, a worker of Saar Basin coal mines, said in anger, The Treaty is unfair. How are my family members supposed to live now when they have taken away our source of living? Demonstrations are expected to continue in the next few days and the Government fears that the Socialists will take advantages of it. The Treaty, signed by the Germany and the Allies at the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles, France last week, has caused uproar in Germany in the last few days as it was clearly nothing but a death sentence to the defeated of the First World War. It was a Diktat an imposed settlement made by the war victors that will definitely cripple the nation once was the most fearsome in the world in terms of military. Despite the Allies promise to consult Germany on the contents of the Treaty, she was excluded in the process of negotiation and was forced to sign the humiliating Treaty. Terms of the Treaty of Versailles includes the full blame for the war (Article 231), the reparations of estimated over 6 billion pounds, military, political and economical restrictions and lost in territories and colonies. This means that Germany will lose all their occupied territories from previous wars and treaties as well as being supervised by the Allies in their internal and external affairs. Feeling of anger towards the Treaty has resulted in aggressive reactions that have gone out of control of the Weimar Government. Local German newspaper such as Deutsche Zeitung or Vorwarts expressed their resentment using words such as injustices, exploitations and vengeance. German people now call its Government the November Criminals and blame them for colluding with the enemies and crippling the whole country. Public demonstrations are just the beginning of the chain reactions of the Treaty, while riots, labor strikes and poverty are expected to occur in the near future. The Treaty itself was meant to be a punishment to Germany so as to establish peace and to warn other countries no to challenge the rest of the world. Germany had been too aggressive since the turning of the century and her people have to pay for it. It is understandable that France demanded huge sanctions on Germany as it had suffered from its neighbor for over two hundred years. However, the Allies had not considered the consequences carefully before agreeing on the Treaty. Germany is a nation with a remarkable history of nationalism and the Germans are famous for their extreme pride in their race. A Treaty like this will not only touch the pride, but will also push the nation with nearly 6 million casualties to the point of poverty and social crisis. As a result, the Treaty will not be easily accepted and obeyed. As far as I am concerned, the Treaty was too harsh and it will surely corner Germany to her limits. Germany was hit hard, and for that I fear, she will seek for revenge, sooner or later, by means of economic, politics, or worse, militarism.